Ord plan costly fail ‘not farmers fault’

Camera IconThe diversion dam on Lake Kununurra controls the flow of water from Lake Argyle into the lower Ord.Picture: Trevor Collens

A $517 million plan to double the size of the Ord Irrigation Scheme area has been labelled an ambitious “10-year failure” by a parliamentary committee.

The report, titled Where to from here? The status of the Ord-East Kimberley Development Plan, found the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development had not fully addressed three of the four recommendations out of a critical auditor general report from 2016.

The recommendations included improved reporting processes, a review of the State’s objectives and role for the future development of the Ord and the establishment of key performance indicators and measures of success for projects arising from the OEKD plan.

The report was released by the WA Public Accounts Committee on March 21. PAC chairman Dr Toni Buti said although DPIRD had taken some actions, it had only fully satisfied the call for the development lease at Goomig, north-east of Kununurra, to be finalised.

“The Ord-East Kimberley Development plan is a laudable and ambitious undertaking, but to a large extent it had been a 10-year failure,” he said.

“Questions remain as to what ongoing benefits the State will gain from its $334 million investment to develop farmland and infrastructure in the East Kimberley.”

The State and Commonwealth governments co-funded the Ord–East Kimberley Development Plan, which was launched in December 2009.

While the original 2016 report criticised the plan for lengthy delays and cost blowouts, including a $114 million increase in State money, the 2019 Committee praised the plan’s original intent to provide key regional infrastructure while doubling the amount of farmland to 28,000 hectares.

Dr Buti said DPIRD offered little detail on any returns for the $334 million of State funding, and almost $200 million in Federal funding, invested to date.

Kimberley Agricultural Investment general manager Jim Engelke said the review had little to do with the work of farmers in the valley.

“The Government has a mining mentality, returns on mines will only last for 10 years. The Ord Valley will be delivering on this investment for the next 100 years,” he said.

Shadow Minister for Agriculture Ian Blayney said while the report found the OEKD had been beset by complicated governance, red tape and poor reporting, it should not detract from the untapped potential to capitalise on significant investment made.